If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

21-Way Open-Source AMD/Intel/NVIDIA GPU Benchmarks On Linux

11-28-2013, 03:20 AM

Phoronix: 21-Way Open-Source AMD/Intel/NVIDIA GPU Benchmarks On Linux

If you are hoping to snag some deals on computer hardware this holiday shopping season, for helping guide you in any graphics card purchases are a fresh round of benchmarks of 21 different graphics processors from the Intel HD Graphics, AMD Radeon, and NVIDIA GeForce families tested on their respective open-source Linux graphics drivers.

Comment

If you plan to buy a graphics card this holiday season for use with open-source drivers exclusively, I would highly recommend the AMD Radeon HD 6000 series graphics cards for maximum performance.

Well, the problem with that is that it's impossible to get a hold of a (new) 59xx/68xx/69xx card, since ATI has pulled them all off the shelf. The only cards available from the older generations are low-end cards, I guess so you have to either buy something low-end or something new and expensive. There are some shady online shops that still sell them, but I wouldn't order from those places.
I really don't have an economical issue with buying a new shiny high-end card, but since I'm only using FOSS drivers, it would be a huge waste of money, and I would get worse performance than from an older and cheaper card.

Edit: Wait, I found one "slightly used, in good condition" in one shop! Hurrah!

Comment

I just found 3 "slightly used" HD6970 2GB ($350), 7870 OC 2GB ($230) and a HD7950 3GB DCII TOP OC ($387).. The 7870 is most bang-for-the-buck I guess? But in the foreseeable future, the 7950 is probably worth the extra 150 bucks, right? It feels like even though the 6970 is the best card according to Phoronix testing today, the 7xxx series will soon surpass it in performance.
(cross post from LLVM thread, I thought it is probably more on-topic here...)

Comment

I had the same decision to take years ago between a 5770 and a 48something that I remember having similar price tag, I went for the 5770 and while it was initially a nightmare (black screen at boot, the card almost ended up out of the window...) I'm now happy about my choice... although since then I've always suggested Intel (since Sandy Bridge) or Nvidia to friends I could end up installing Linux on their machine.

Michael, thanks for the review, it's nice to see a comparison with a good number of cards. Hopefully in the future there will be more Intel HD Graphics and AMD APUs, including Pentium HD Graphics that is barely benchmarked even on windows.
By the way, are you an affiliate of Amazon or Newegg? I just read that Amazon affiliate get 4+%, and considering that it's not necessarily limited to computer components, including family and friends, I could easy have matched a year subscription to Phoronix this year!

Comment

I just found 3 "slightly used" HD6970 2GB ($350), 7870 OC 2GB ($230) and a HD7950 3GB DCII TOP OC ($387).. The 7870 is most bang-for-the-buck I guess? But in the foreseeable future, the 7950 is probably worth the extra 150 bucks, right? It feels like even though the 6970 is the best card according to Phoronix testing today, the 7xxx series will soon surpass it in performance.
(cross post from LLVM thread, I thought it is probably more on-topic here...)

The higher-end 7000 series shares cores with low end R7/R9's. Improvements to RadeonSI will improve both. It's only Sea Islands (Hawaii - R9 290, 290X) which are completely buggered at the moment.

Comment

I just found 3 "slightly used" HD6970 2GB ($350), 7870 OC 2GB ($230) and a HD7950 3GB DCII TOP OC ($387).. The 7870 is most bang-for-the-buck I guess? But in the foreseeable future, the 7950 is probably worth the extra 150 bucks, right? It feels like even though the 6970 is the best card according to Phoronix testing today, the 7xxx series will soon surpass it in performance.
(cross post from LLVM thread, I thought it is probably more on-topic here...)

As hardware goes they are ranked 7870, 6970, 7950. So the pricing is pretty good at mirroring the performance.